It shouldn’t be a complete surprise that the Jets are hanging on to whatever life they have left.
In the summer of 2010, the Chicago Blackhawks traded Dustin Byfuglien to the struggling Atlanta Thrashers. It was part of a larger “blockbuster” trade that saw an exchange of several players, prospects, and draft picks between the divergent clubs.
Dustin Byfuglien was a defensive menace who could change the entire game the second he set foot on the ice. A monster defender standing 6-foot-5, and weighing 260-pounds, he played a critical role for the Winnipeg Jets and ultimately was their locker room leader for almost a decade.
General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has been in damage control ever since former NHL player Dustin Byfuglien, who was a physical defenseman and was capable of racking up around 50 points per season in his prime, left the Winnipeg Jets in 2019.
Since the sudden departure of defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, who suffered a high-ankle sprain in 2019 and hasn’t returned to the ice since then, the Winnipeg Jets have been forced to constantly retool their blue line over the last two seasons but it appears they may have finally discovered a solution to this challenging situation.
He’s playing at a 33-point pace offensively, a mark that he has reached in four of the last five seasons.
April 2020 saw the extensions of Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins for the Blue Jackets, and Sammy Blais and Marco Scandella of the Blues. And a pair of longtime NHL veterans decided to call it a career.
Let’s start this out by saying, Dustin Byfuglien returning to the NHL is a longshot. During a recent interview with his agent, there were many times it was hinted that Bug Buff was done and by most accounts, the possibility of the defenseman returning to the league doesn’t look promising.
If this is the end of the line for Byfuglien, he will have finished playing 869 games with the Jets, Chicago Blackhawks and Atlanta Thrashers.
The Chicago Blackhawks scouting staff finally gets to take center stage in a few days as the NHL Entry Draft is nearly upon us. While they are preparing to add more prospects to the system, a former draft pick is coming along nicely overseas.
After his contract was terminated by the Jets back in April, Dustin Byfuglien became an unrestricted free agent. However, it appears the long-time defenseman is out of the game for good.
At the end of every workweek, Yardbarker takes a look at what the NHL has in store for the weekend. We'll see whose stock is soaring, who needs to get their acts together and what tilts promise to keep you on the edge of your seat.
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